well, one thing that people didn't mention is the fact that the stick is an analog stick with 8 locking points that can also simulate an 8 way digital stick. as far as i know most joysticks are digital, so this is probably one of the best features of the shaft. in comparison with the hori fighting stick, there are 2 fundamental differences. first is, i think it is a complete digital stick with no analog support. secondly it essentially is a classic controller with no neither the right or left analog stick, but includes the ZR and ZL buttons. while the shaft is essentially a game cube controller without the C-stick, but includes analog stick control.